We find ourselves flipping through our own concert listings
from time to time, and every so often this activity leads
us to reconnect with an artist we’d not thought about in some
time. This week’s example: Kristin Hersh, who plays at the
Iron Horse this evening. She’s perhaps best known as the leader
of vintage alternative-rock band Throwing Muses, and more
recently as part of the trio 50 Foot Wave. But it’s Hersh’s
work as a solo artist that we love the best—her 1994 single
“Your Ghost” is just as haunting (yeah, we know) as it was
back in the day, and 2008’s Speedbath proved she continues
to be a formidable recording artist. (June 3, 7 PM, $17,
20 Center St., Northampton, Mass., 413-586-8686)

The
Ike Reilly Assassination

Valentine’s,
Thursday

Entertainment rule No. 1: Give ’em their money’s worth. Ike
Reilly Assassination leader Ike Reilly, when faced with a
considerably less-than-capacity crowd in Ohio last month,
remarked, “It’s taken us 12 years to build this crowd,” before
leading the band through a 90-minute set—that’s an hour
and a half for about 40 or 50 arms-folded Clevelanders.
Here’s hoping the tour fares better when it stops in Albany
tonight because, with a style that’s something like early
Springsteen fronting the Clash, Reilly is one of the great
underheard voices in independent music, and we’d love to see
him return. Recommended if you couldn’t get tickets to the
Hold Steady. (June 3, 8 PM, $10, 17 New Scotland Ave.,
Albany, 432-6572)

Eufórquestra

Putnam
Den, Thursday

When you’re a horn-crazed, groove-heavy, seven-piece genre-splicing
machine, like Colorado’s Eufórquestra are, there’s power in
the hyphen. To describe their wide-ranging blend of reggae,
samba, soca and dub, the band arrived on the label “Afro-Carribean
barnyard funk.” Of course, you’ll just have to give these
guys a listen to find out what that means exactly. The group
have toured hard for up-and-coming status on the West Coast
club and festival circuit, sharing the stage with folks like
Russell Batiste, Page McConnell, Papa Mali and Reed Mathis
along the way. Thursday’s show likely will be foot-stompin’,
booty-shakin’, face-meltin’ and all the rest. Black Mountain
Symphony open. (June 3, 9 PM, $5, 63A Putnam St., Saratoga
Springs, 584-8066)

JaLaLa

The
Egg, Saturday

Jalala is a village in northwestern Pakistan. JaLaLa are Janis
Siegel, Laurel Masse and Lauren Kinhan—get it? Furthermore,
Siegel and Masse are founding members of the Manhattan Transfer,
that Grammy-gobbling vocal group, and Kinhan is a longtime
member of jazz group New York Voices. The trio got together
last year to record That Old Mercer Magic!, a tribute
to pop lyricist Johnny Mercer, who penned classics like “Moon
River,” “Jeepers Creepers,” and “Accentuate the Positive.”
Saturday’s show will draw on this material as well as jazz
standards and fan favorites. What all this has to do with
the Pashto people of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region remains
unclear. (June 5, 8 PM, $24, Empire State Plaza, Albany,
473-1845)

Kings
of Leon

Kings
of Leon, The Whigs

Saratoga
Performing Arts Center, Sunday

When Nashville’s Kings of Leon last came through the Capital
Region, they played to a full house at the relatively cozy
Revolution Hall. But that was before “Use Somebody,” the U2-sized
anthem that took the band to the top of the charts last year—and
to a triple Grammy win this January. Thusly, the Kings are
now touring venues that better suit their expansive sound;
it feels rightfully like a victory lap for a band who seem
to have been on the road straight through since 2003. Opening
Sunday’s show are Athens, Ga. trio the Whigs, last seen in
these parts headlining Valentine’s just one month ago. (June
6, 7:30 PM, $35.50-$55.50, Saratoga Spa State Park, Saratoga
Springs, 587-3330)

Also
Noted

Darlingside

This
(Thursday) evening brings the first of this summer’s
Alive at Five concerts in downtown Albany; the
kickoff event keeps it local with performances
from Audiostars and Cryin’ Out Loud
(5 PM, free, 434-2032). . . . Harold Ford and
the Cash Band celebrate the life and music
of the Man in Black (Johnny Cash, noobs) tomorrow
(Friday) at the Linda (8 PM, $20, 465-5233). .
. . Western Mass.-based “string-rock” band Darlingside
play Saratoga’s Putnam Den Friday night, just
ahead of the release of their new EP; Alta
Mira are also on the bill (8 PM, $5, 584-8066).
. . . The Dave Mat thews Band settle in
for their annual sold-out SPAC run this Friday
and Saturday; this time next summer Dave and the
gang will be mowing their lawns, as they’re taking
a rare year off in 2011 (7 PM Fri, 6 PM Sat, 587-3330).
. . . Northern Lights welcomes funk-rockers Keeping
Riley this Wednesday night; they’ll share
the stage with the Lost Sons and others(6 PM, $12, 371-0012). . . . The inimitable
Robyn Hitchcock plays the Iron Horse in
Northampton, Mass., on Wednesday, with support
from Jennifer O’Connor (7 PM, $20, 413-586-8686).